Rome, 21 April (LaPresse) – ‘That was Pope Francis’ first apostolic journey. A trip that gave a very strong imprint to his pontificate and broke the isolation of Lampedusa’. Giusi Nicolini, mayor of Lampedusa, told LaPresse when on 8 July 2013 the Pope chose Lampedusa to speak about that ‘globalisation of indifference’. Nicolini points out that ‘the homily he delivered is also unforgettable: very strong, very harsh, in its tone against the powers that be, against migration policies. He was able to give an important message: that the victims of the Mediterranean are not victims of the sea in the strict sense, but are victims of the policies of rejection, of closure'. ‘Now we are all more alone, we are all more lonely,’ he stressed. ‘He was an authoritative voice not only from a moral and religious point of view, even for those who do not believe, Francis was a great world political authority, international, and this authoritativeness seems to me to be lacking in the other protagonists of the world scenario right now. If one thinks of Trump, Putin or Netanyahu. There was still a great need for Bergoglio'.
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